There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. - Graham Greene

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 1, No. 48, Part II, 9 June 1997

Vol. 1, No. 48, Part II, 9 June 1997
This is Part II of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Newsline.
Part II is a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and
Southeastern Europe. Part I, covering Russia, Transcaucasia and
Central Asia, is distributed simultaneously as a second document.
Back
issues of RFE/RL NewsLine are available through RFE/RL's WWW
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Headlines, Part II
* UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE TREATY
* RUSSIA STRONGLY CRITICIZES BOMBING OF WWII MEMORIAL IN RIGA
* VRANITZKY LEAVES ALBANIAN MONITORING QUESTION UNRESOLVED
End Note
CZECH GOVERNMENT BRACES ITSELF FOR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
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EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE TREATY. Leonid Kuchma said on nationwide
radio on 7 June that the political treaty with Russia, signed in Kyiv on 31
May, was a victory for "reason" and "common sense." Kuchma noted the treaty
has been internationally acclaimed and rejected accusations that the
agreements reached were to the detriment of Ukraine's national interests.
Besides signing the treaty, Kuchma and Yeltsin concluded a deal on the
division of the Black Sea fleet and the use of port facilities in Sevastopol.
Ukraine's lawmakers have asked Kuchma to explain the treaty and clarify the
Black Sea deal (see RFE/RL Newsline, 6 June 1997).
FOREIGN VISITORS IN UKRAINE. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati
arrived in Kyiv on 8 June for talks on expanding relations. The Ukrainian
Foreign Ministry told journalists the purpose of the visit is to discuss
future political and economic cooperation between Kyiv and Iran. Ukraine
halted the sale of tanks to Iran last year following protests by Israel.
Meanwhile, Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian held talks with his Ukrainian
counterpart, Olexander Kuzmuk, and other officials in Kyiv on 6 June at the
start of his five-day visit to Ukraine. He is also scheduled to meet with
President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko.
RUSSIA STRONGLY CRITICIZES BOMBING OF WWII MEMORIAL IN RIGA. Moscow has
strongly criticized the bombing of a World War II monument in Riga (see RFE/RL
Newsline, 6 June 1997), BNS and Western agencies reported. One person was
killed in the blast, which damaged the base of the monument. Russian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Gennadii Tarasov said in a statement that "Moscow will
judge the extent of Riga's real interest in developing bilateral relations
with Russia by the Latvian government's reaction to the incident." He added
that the explosion was an attempt to deal a blow to the "stabilization
process" in Russian-Latvian relations. Latvian Foreign Ministry State
Secretary Maris Riekstins urged that the incident not be allowed to have a
negative impact on those relations. The 1985 monument commemorates the victory
of Soviet troops over Nazi occupation forces in Riga during World War II.
Russian nationalists have frequently held rallies there.
EMIGRE AGREES TO RUN FOR LITHUANIAN PRESIDENCY. Valdas Adamkus, a U.S.
environmental official of Lithuanian origin, has agreed to run for the
Lithuanian presidency, BNS reported. Adamkus was in Vilnius on 7 June to
attend a meeting of the Centrist Union, which is backing his candidacy and
which has twice proposed amending legislation that stipulates candidates must
have been resident in Lithuania for three years prior to the elections. The
parliament rejected that proposal on both occasions. A recent poll showed
Adamkus topping approval ratings, ahead of incumbent President Algirdas
Brazauskas, former Prosecutor-General Arturas Paulauskas, and parliamentary
speaker Vytautas Landsbergis (see RFE/RL Newsline, 30 May 1997)
POLISH PREMIER THANKS POPE FOR STEERING CLEAR OF DOMESTIC POLITICS.
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz thanked Pope John Paul II on 8 June for not stirring
up political debates during his trip to his homeland, which is taking place
just four months before parliamentary elections. Cimoszewicz, whose Democratic
Left Alliance has led the coalition government since 1993, told reporters
after his 20-minute audience with the pope in Cracow that he had noted
attempts to gain political capital from the pontiff's visit. But the premier
added he would refrain from comment in order not to spoil the special
atmosphere surrounding the papal visit. He did note, however, that he and the
pope did not discuss the two issues that most divide the Polish Catholic
Church and the former Communists--abortion and the still unratified Concordat
treaty with the Vatican.
POLAND'S LOWER CHAMBER ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY. The Sejm has voted by 281 to
20 with three abstentions to abolish the death penalty, Reuters reported on 6
June. This measure is part of a new penal code that must still be signed by
President Aleksander Kwasniewski before taking effect on 1 January 1998.
Poland hanged its last convicted criminal in 1988. Since then, a moratorium on
carrying out executions has been in force.
CZECH PREMIER WARNS OF UNCERTAINTY IF CZECH GOVERNMENT FALLS. Vaclav Klaus
said on Czech TV on 8 June that the parliament's failure to support his
government in the 10 June vote of confidence would be a "leap in the dark."
Klaus argued it would be relatively easy to bring the government down, but he
pointed to the uncertainty of what would happen next. He said those who want
the government to fall should propose a better alternative. Klaus's Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) and its two junior coalition partners--the Civic
Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL)--hold just 100
votes in the 200-seat parliament. But the Christian Democrats have said they
will support the government only if it first endorses a stabilization program
recently approved by the three coalition leaders. They also suggested that the
government postpone rent and energy prices hikes announced earlier this year
(see "End Note" below).
SLOVAKIA'S FIRST PRIVATE NEWS AGENCY BURGLARIZED WEEK BEFORE OPENING. The
offices of the first private Slovak news agency, which is due to begin
operations on 15 June, have been burglarized, director-general Pavol Mudry
told journalists on 8 June. Mudry said that although the building had a
security system, much of SITA's equipment was stolen. According to police, the
burglary seems to have taken place on 7 June. SITA will employ some 30 people
and will compete against the state-run Slovak Press Agency (TASR) on the
Slovak media market. It has said it will focus on economic and domestic
political news.
SLOVAK PREMIER SAYS NO DEVALUATION OF SLOVAK CROWN. Vladimir Meciar told
Slovak Radio on 7 June that no devaluation of the Slovak crown "is being
prepared or considered." He said that devaluation would be of no benefit to
the Slovak economy, and he called on Slovaks to put their trust in the
national currency and deposit their money in Slovak financial institutions.
According to Meciar, floating the Slovak crown, as has been done with its
Czech counterpart, was an unfeasible economic instrument from Slovakia's
viewpoint. "The fixed exchange rate is better in every way," he argued. The
premier also said that Slovakia intends to reduce the mutual dependence of the
Slovak and Czech economies.
EIGHT OFFICIALS CHARGED IN HUNGARY'S "TOCSIK SCANDAL." In one of the biggest
scandals in post-communist Hungary, eight officials associated with the
Privatization and State Property Holding Agency have been charged with
mismanagement, fraud, or forgery, Hungarian media reported on 6 June. One of
those charged is Marta Tocsik, a consultant who was paid more than 800 million
forints ($5.3 million) for mediating between the state privatization agency
and local governments over the division of income from the sales of state
enterprises. Charges also were filed against Laszlo Boldvai, a former
treasurer of Hungary's governing party; Peter Liszkai, a former legal counsel
for the privatization agency; and Imre Szokai, the privatization agency's former
board chairman. In October 1996, Prime Minister Gyula Horn fired the agency's
entire board and ordered a full-scale investigation.
HUNGARY'S RULING PARTY HOLDS CONGRESS. The Socialist Party has good chances of
winning the 1998 general elections but must improve its policies and make
fewer mistakes, party chairman and Prime Minister Gyula Horn told the fifth
congress of his Socialist Party on 7 June. Horn called for party unity, saying
it would not be "constructive" for small groups within the party to "question
the authority of the leadership" less than a year before the elections. The
success of Hungary's economic stabilization and its prospects of joining NATO
and the EU were likely to help the Socialists repeat their 1994 victory, he
said.
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
VRANITZKY LEAVES ALBANIAN MONITORING QUESTION UNRESOLVED. Franz Vranitzky, a
mediator for the Operation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, paid a
one-day visit to the Albanian capital on 8 June. He met with President Sali
Berisha, Prime Minister Bashkim Fino, and OSCE field personnel. Vranitzky told
a press conference that preparations for the elections topped his agenda, an
RFE/RL correspondent reported. It nonetheless remains unclear in which regions
OSCE monitors will be finally deployed. Fino said on 8 June that they might be
limited to Tirana if the security situation outside the capital does not
improve. Vranitzky noted the OSCE will not deal directly with local rebel
chiefs in the south. Meanwhile, Berisha has extended the curfew by one hour to
10:00 p.m. and decreed that no curfew will be in effect on election day. The
opposition, however, wants it abolished completely.
ARMED ATTACK ON TIRANA PRISON HOSPITAL. In the night from 6 to 7 June, a group
of armed people attacked the prison hospital in Tirana. The shoot-out with
police continued for about 30 minutes, but the unidentified assailants
escaped. Two prominent prisoners were in the jail at the time, but it is
unclear if the attack had to do with either of them. One of the prisoners is
Ilir Ceta, who tried to assassinate President Berisha on 4 June. The other is
Maksude Kademi, the owner of the collapsed Sudja pyramid scheme. No injuries
were reported during the shoot-out, according to Dita Informacion on 8 June.
ALBANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SLAMS ELECTION LAW. Constitutional Court judge
Rustem Gjata on 7 June ruled that the current system for allotting 40
legislative seats on the basis of proportional representation is
unconstitutional. The law allocates 10 of those to the two largest parties,
while the other 30 go to smaller parties. This could have led to scenarios in
which small parties with just over 2% of the vote have more seats than the
party with the second-largest number of votes, an RFE/RL correspondent
reported from Tirana. In reaction to the decision, nine small parties
threatened to withdraw from the coalition government and to boycott the
election. An all-party round table convened in Tirana on 8 June to deal with
the dispute, but no results have been announced. President Berisha will either
have to decree an amendment to the law or recall the parliament to amend the
legislation.
CROATIA'S TUDJMAN DELIVERS MIXED MESSAGE IN VUKOVAR. President Franjo Tudjman
and 2,000 well-wishers went by train from Zagreb to Serb-held Vukovar in
eastern Slavonia on 8 June. Tudjman said in the Danubian town that all ethnic
Serbs who recognize Croatia as their home and obtain Croatian documents are
welcome to stay, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the area. He stressed,
however, that it is not possible for all Croatia's 150-200,000 Serbian
refugees to return home lest "discord and war" break out once again. The
president warned the remaining Serbs not to let themselves become instruments
of Belgrade's policies. He added that while Croatia cannot forget what has
happened since 1990, it must forgive. Eastern Slavonia is under UN
administration but is slated to return to Croatian control in mid-July.
LOCAL SERBS CRITICIZE TUDJMAN'S SPEECH. Vojislav Stanimirovic, the leading
local Serbian political figure in Vukovar, said after Tudjman's departure on 8
June that the president's speech was not sufficiently conciliatory.
Stanimirovic stressed that Tudjman's failure to welcome back all Serbs was
particularly unhelpful. The Serbian leader emphasized that the key issues now
are to ensure full respect for human and civil rights, an RFE/RL correspondent
reported from the area. UN administrator Jacques Klein, for his part, noted
that all Croatian citizens must work together for reconciliation and that it
would be "a great historical mistake" not to do so. As Tudjman's train passed
through nearby Serb-held Borovo, some 20 men stoned it, breaking some windows.
Journalists reporting from the area said Tudjman's speech should have been the
most important one of his career but that he put electoral politics before
statesmanship.
CROATIAN OPPOSITION LEADER LEAVES HOSPITAL. Vlado Gotovac, the Liberal and
opposition coalition candidate for the presidency, left hospital in Zagreb on
8 June. He was being treated following a recent assault that left him shaken
(see RFE/RL Newsline, 6 June 1997). Gotovac is now returning to the campaign
trail, albeit on a reduced schedule, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from
Zagreb. Authorities in Pula said on 6 June that the attacker was a drunken
army captain who was subsequently arrested and suspended from duty. The local
police admitted that security at the rally was lax. Meanwhile in Osijek,
coalition leaders met on 7 June and slammed the attack on Gotovac as an
"organized assassination attempt" that bodes ill for the future of Croatian
democracy.
UPDATE FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. Eight presidents representing the Central
European Initiative countries met in the Slovenian town of Portoroz on 7 June
and called for the swift integration of ex-communist states into NATO and the
EU. Slovene President Milan Kucan added, however, that peoples must not lose
their identity in the rush for European unity. CEI foreign ministers met the
same day in Sarajevo, where they pledged to send observers to cover the
Albanian elections. Also in the Bosnian capital, a controversy broke out over
the weekend over attempts by the Bosnian police to block the sale of the
bi-monthly magazine Politika. The magazine's editors charged that the
authorities do not tolerate criticism of President Alija Izetbegovic, while
the police argued that the magazine was vulgar and insensitive. In Croat-held
Stolac, the Onasa news agency reported on 7 June that 11 Muslim homes were
torched recently, shortly before their owners were due to return. And in
Washington, the State Department on 6 June criticized Serbia for threatening
to close down 500 radio and TV stations unless they obtain new permits.
ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION. By a vote of 227 to 158, a
joint session of Romania's bi-cameral parliament rejected a motion of
no-confidence in Victor Ciorbea's government on 6 June, RFE/RL's Bucharest
bureau reported. Before the vote, the opposition argued that the government
has failed to keep its electoral promises to improve living standards, cut
taxes, and help industry and agriculture. Ciorbea pointed to his government's
achievements and said all the faults imputed to his cabinet were the lingering
legacy of Nicolae Vacaroiu's government. Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the leader of
the Greater Romania Party, said the day marked the beginning of the Romanian
people's "struggle of national liberation" against the ruling coalition. The
parliament is due to debate a second no-confidence motion on 9 June.
ROMANIAN SUPREME COURT REDUCES SENTENCES OF OFFICIALS, SECURITATE COMMANDERS.
The Supreme Court on 6 June reduced the sentences of 16 former officials and
secret police commanders who were involved in the killing and wounding of
demonstrators in Timisoara during the December 1989 uprising against the
communist regime. Among those who received lighter sentences are Ion Coman, a
former secretary of the party, and Cornel Pacoste, a former member of the
Executive Committee. Radu Tinu and Gheorghe Atudoraie, former high-ranking
Securitate officers in Timis County, were acquitted. However, the court
sentenced Ilie Matei, a former member of the Communist Party's Executive
Committee, to 15 years in prison for the role he played in the incident. Matei
had been acquitted by a lower court.
ROMANIAN PARTICIPATION IN NEW REGIONAL FORMATIONS. Austrian Foreign Minister
Wolfgang Schuessel has submitted his country's proposals for the mechanism of
the Austrian-Romanian-Hungarian "trilateral." Schuessel met with his Romanian
counterpart, Adrian Severin, and Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Matyas
Eoersi on 8 June in Sarajevo, where the three also attended a meeting of the
Central European Initiative. The "trilateral" was officially launched when the
three countries' foreign ministers met in Sintra, Portugal, one week earlier.
Also in Sarajevo, Severin agreed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Hennadii
Udovenko and Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Aurelian Danila to set up a
"trilateral" of their countries. Meanwhile, it was announced in Bucharest that
the presidents of Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania will meet in Izmail, Ukraine,
in early July to officially launch the two "Euroregions" provided for in the
recent Romanian-Ukrainian basic treaty, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on
8 June.
MOLDOVAN TRADE WITH CIS DECLINING. Moldova's trade with CIS countries has
dropped by 2.6% to $392 million since the beginning of 1997, a Ministry of
Economy spokesman told journalists on 6 June. He added that Moldova now has a
trade deficit with CIS countries totaling $52.2 million, saying that this poor
performance was largely due to the tax deposits imposed by Ukraine for
Moldovan exports transiting the country. The spokesman said the taxes--which
are intended to guarantee that goods will not be illegally sold in
Ukraine--have "paralyzed" trade with CIS countries for many weeks.
BULGARIAN PREMIER WANTS TO STEP UP FIGHT AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME. Ivan Kostov
told the parliament on 6 June that Bulgaria must tighten laws against
organized crime and corruption, Reuters reported from Sofia. Kostov suggested
amendments to the penal code to fight domestic arms trade and the setting up
of organized criminal groups. He said some members of the former state
security services now "play a key role in crime." The next day, Kostov met
with top security officials to discuss the fight against organized crime.
Boiko Rashkov, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, told the
press before the meeting that the government and law enforcement officials
need to work closely to achieve better results.
CLINTON CONGRATULATES FORMER BULGARIAN PREMIER. Stefan Sofiyanski, who headed
Bulgaria's interim cabinet before the April elections, says he has received a
letter from U.S. President Bill Clinton praising his government's contribution
to restoring stability in Bulgaria. Sofiyanski said Clinton lauded the
"remarkable achievements" of the interim cabinet, which ruled Bulgaria for 99
days after taking over amid a severe economic crisis, an RFE/RL Sofia
correspondent reported on 8 June.
END NOTE
CZECH GOVERNMENT BRACES ITSELF FOR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
by Jiri Pehe
For the first time since the fall of communism, the Czech Republic is about to
test one of the fundamental mechanisms of democracy: a vote of confidence in
the government. The cabinet has called for such a vote to take place on 10
June, following changes in the government and the announcement of a
stabilization package aimed at bolstering the weakening currency and curing
the ailing economy. The package, which provides for austerity measures, is
likely to result in belt-tightening for many Czechs after several years of
economic prosperity.
The call for a vote of confidence came partly in response to the opposition
Social Democratic Party's decision to propose a vote of no-confidence in the
government. Under the Czech Constitution, a confidence vote initiated by the
government passes if a simple majority of deputies present in the lower
chamber vote in the government's favor. A no-confidence vote initiated by the
opposition, on the other hand, requires an absolute majority of all 200
deputies in the lower chamber (101 votes).
The problems facing the government are both political and economic. The June
1996 parliamentary elections resulted in the narrow defeat of the
right-of-center coalition led by Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus. The fragmented
opposition allowed Klaus to form a minority government, which has been under
constant pressure. Accustomed over the previous four years to ruling
unchallenged by the opposition, the government found it difficult to seek a
broader political consensus for its policies.
Moreover, the opposition Social Democrats have opted for a highly
confrontational style that has made it increasingly difficult for the
government to be conciliatory. After last year's elections, Czech politics
quickly degenerated into constant battles between the opposition and coalition
over minor questions. Major issues, such as completing privatization and
reforming the educational, health, and housing sectors, had to be put on hold.
Most analysts agree that the ruling coalition's biggest failing is its
inability to communicate with the public and the opposition. There have also
been serious problems within the ruling coalition. The two junior coalition
partners of Klaus's Civic Democratic Party (ODS)--the Christian Democrats
(KDU-CSL) and the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA)--have found it difficult at
times to work with the prime minister and his party.
The constant political bickering both between the ruling coalition and the
opposition and within the coalition itself has taken its toll. By the end of
1996, opinion polls showed that an increasing number of Czechs were disgusted
with politics. The paralyzed government was unable to respond promptly to the
growing number of negative developments, including banking and financial
scandals as well as worsening macroeconomic indicators. Strengthened
numerically by the expulsion of two Social Democratic deputies from their
party, the coalition finally decided to act in April by announcing the
austerity measures.
However, this step did not have the desired result, partly because the
acknowledgment of past mistakes was not accompanied by a government reshuffle.
By mid-May, opinion polls suggested that the public's confidence in the
government had declined to an all-time low. Calls for its resignation and
Klaus's replacement began to intensify. To make matters worse, currency
speculators responded to the growing political and economic malaise by
attacking the Czech currency. Although the Central Bank spent some $2-3
billion to defend the crown, it was eventually forced to abolish the 15%
fluctuation band, paving the way for a significant decline in the crown's
value.
The coalition's stabilization program, announced in the wake of the Central
Bank's decision, can succeed only if it has the active support of all
coalition parties and at least the tacit support of the trade unions and the
opposition. Winning a vote confidence is a prerequisite for seeking such
support.
But the latest developments show that the coalition is severely disjointed.
Josef Lux, chairman of the Christian (KDU-CSL), has called for replacing
Klaus. Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec, who is also deputy chairman of the
ODS, recently attacked the prime minister for allegedly failing to inform the
government about a letter from the IMF enumerating what the fund considers to
be the Czech Republic's main economic problems. Klaus and Zieleniec later
announced they would put up a united front, but the ODS appears to be divided.
The KDU-CSL has said it will support the government in the confidence vote
only if the government approves the stabilization package--which is still a
coalition document--beforehand. It has also urged the government to reconsider
the rent and energy hikes announced earlier this year.
Given that the ruling coalition controls 100 seats in the 200-member
parliament, the government is likely to survive the vote. But when the
population begins to feel the impact of the austerity measures,.the country may
experience renewed social and political tensions. The government's continued
existence will then depend on whether it is able to forge a broader social
consensus for its policies. If the government falls, President Vaclav Havel is
likely to give the coalition one more chance to form a government--but most
likely without Klaus as premier. If a new government cannot be formed, the
country is headed for early elections. According to opinion polls, such a vote
would result in victory for the Social Democrats.
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